I remember when I took my first watercolor class at Kennesaw State University I told the person next to me that I could see myself being a watercolor artist. It has a lot of advantages.
Picture from http://www.squidoo.com/watercolor-paint-sets
Advantages:
-small tubes of paint, relatively cost the same as oils however
-a small dab of paint goes a long way
-the paint can dry on your palette and can still be reused
-dries quickly, can be sped up with hair dryer
-very clean, everything can be washed with water
-can be manipulated on paper even after drying
-no fumes, not as toxic as oils
-a very expressive medium because of its fluidity
Disadvantages:
-transparent, difficult to achieve opacity
-once put onto paper, it’s very hard to remove it completely
-takes a lot of skill to control
I really love this medium and would recommend everyone at least try to use it. Of course the way that I use watercolor is very different from most other artists. I control my medium rather than letting it be expressive. I mostly use a “dry brush” technique for my watercolors where very little water is used. I treat my watercolors almost like my graphite drawings. I am “drawing” with the watercolor brush.
